Never Take Things For Granted
by Karianasan
Summary: A semi-serious piece that takes a good look at how the Gang interact. Though it might end up lighter more towards the end, so don't lose hope. And Never take things for granted. Story Complete!
1. The Event

Sometimes we take things we are able to do normally, for granted. From being able to stand and move around freely, to being able to sit down at times when your feet need the rest. Or even being able to take a deep breath in and out. There is a lot we do everyday and normal people don't realize how fortunate they are. What certain people have to deal without, or deal with having compare to the average person. Some do people count their blessings, but sometimes it takes having things taken away to realize just how lucky we really are.

BOOM

Rattiling the house, the sound of an explosion brought the rest of the house running to find out what happened. Breaking the silence of a late autumn day, the loud sound had seemed to have emanated from the basement, accompanied by a rather unsettling large, black smoke cloud that was seeping up the stairs. Plunging into the smoke, Velma was the second one to the stairs.

"Are you guys OK?" Velma yelled out into the black cloud, nearly tripping over the stairs and she and Shaggy belted down them. Scooby had bound ahead and cleared the stairs easily, and disappeared into the darkness flooding the room. Coughing could be heard somewhere in the blackness, but it was to think to really get a picture where they were until someone spoke.

"I'm fine!" Daphne called back as she was trying to clear out the smoke from one of the basement windows of her Darkroom. "But Fred is hurt! We need to get him out of here! Now!" Daphne almost squeaked, since she was worried about Fred. Fred had moved to one side and tried to stay out of Daphne's way as she went about trying to clean the room out. Scooby was having a hard time due to the smoke and decided to sit by Fred. Licking his face to let him know everything was going to be OK.

"... I think I'm OK... Get the smoke out first so we can see." Fred responded unsteadily. He seemed to have been a bit shaken up, but was trying to deal with the situation first and not over react. His hands moved to pet Scooby, helping him focus on something to calm down while he waited for the smoke to clear.

Moving into the room, Shaggy and Velma helped Daphne try to fan out the smoke, out the window. It helped a lot once it was open and the three of them were working at it. Remembering about a feature she had installed, Velma moved to find the vent for the darkroom. She had installed it to help get fumes out of the room just in case, so it would be perfect now. Once it was one, what smoke was left got drawn up and out of the room clearing most of it. Only a few bits drifted about.

"What happened?" Shaggy asked, looking around seeing things in pretty good order in the room for somewhere that had an explosion go off into it.

Waving her hand to dispel a little smoke cloud before her Daphne explained how they had been working on developing some film when Fred had picked up the wrong bottle of some liquid to help develop the film and the result was the explosion and the smoke. It was mostly a flash bang kind of reaction, and most of the result was the smoke.

"Can you get the rest of the smoke out of here?"

Fred commented off to the side where he had sat down. His hand was moving back and forth in front of him. But there was no smoke to be found. "...I can't see anything with all this smoke."

There was silence for a while as the realization hit the rest of the gang. Daphne started to move forward, holding her hand out of Fred before she stopped in front of him. She wasn't sure if she should touch him or not.

"Guys... Where are you guys?... What is going on?" Fred started to sound a bit worried.

"... Like... There is no smoke Fred..." Shaggy managed to sputter out. Fred's eyes grew wide as they were staring off not focused on anything. Scooby looked up concernedly as he waved a paw in front of Fred's face and got no response  
...  
...

"Guys... I think I'm blind."


	2. The News

Though they rushed to get Fred to the doctor, it still took a long time for them to get seen by the emergency room. It was filled with people of various problems, and they were going to have to except a while before they got seen.

Once called up, the Gang was forced to wait in the waiting room since they kept interrupting the poor nurse just trying to get information on what had happened. It was a bit humorous since the calmest one was Fred himself, who was the one who had the emergency. Though he understood why everyone was upset, and it felt nice to know how much they had all cared about him. But he would prefer them to fuss over him later, and let the poor Nurse do her job so he could see the doctor sooner.

Once the Doctor had arrived and he was able to be looked over, it didn't seem too promising. Though the doctor didn't straight out say he was going to be blind forever, he didn't give the reassurance he was going to be fine either. Bandaging his face, the gang was finally let in so the doctor could tell them how to change the bandages properly.

"Now make sure to keep your eyes close the whole time when they change the dressing." The Doctor instructed Fred. "It's better to have them stay closed rather then aggravate them. I also want you to have plenty of rest and relax. There is not much else you can do for now but enjoy the time off. I will see you in a week to check how you are progressing."

The Doctor took Fred's hand and shook it. Fred shook it back but was not looking forward to just loafing around.

"... I hope to see you too Doc. Thanks." Fred muttered a bit sarcastically, but understandable for someone in his position.

The Doctor gave him a sympathetic smile and a pat on the shoulder to let Fred know he understood. Then before the Doctor left, he gave the others a short wave before he moved on to his next patient.

"Come on Fred, Let's go home." Daphne moved to one side of him while Velma grabbed the other helping him to his feet. Shaggy moved ahead of them and opened the door as the girls led Fred out of the hospital.

---------------------------------------

The car ride home was silent. On the gang side, they were not sure what to say. Either to offer sympathetic remarks or positive outlooks, it was not an easy task to think of the right thing to say. If there was a right thing to say at the moment. Though as everyone bumbled mentally for the right words, Fred found himself listening to the various sounds on the car ride home. Well, between feeling sorry for himself and pushing away thoughts of possible blind doom. He wanted to keep hope that he would get his sight back. The latter was not the most exciting notion to have.

Though the ride was long, they were all glad when they got home. Helping him into the house, this time Shaggy helped him while Daphne wrestled Scooby back from jumping on Fred and Velma got the door.

As soon as they were all in the door, they burst into comments they had been thinking the whole ride home. Though it did little for Fred since they were all saying them all at the same time so it was hard to make one out from the other.

"Fred I'm so..." " I 'like want to just say..." "It really isn't all that"  
"Reddy rar rou..."

"Thanks gang but..." Fred cut in before they all gave him a headache. "... It's been a long day. For all of us."

He paused and listened to them all quieting down. They didn't seem to like him stopping them, but since he was the one with the problem they seemed to listen.

"... I think I would like to try getting some sleep. Can someone help me to my room?"

Someone moved to his side and helped him up the stairs. Gripping the railing, he was guided to his room where he didn't even bother to get dressed into anything else and hit the bed exhausted. With the stress of all that had happened he was asleep quickly. 


	3. Awakening and Anger

Waking up, Fred felt a pressure around his face. He tried to open his eyes but nothing helped to shed some light to his view. He started to freak out.

"Ahh!"

He yelled, roughly pushing up the blankets and waving about madly. Everywhere he moved the pressure about his eyes continued and he still was unable to see. Frantic, he moved to forcefully rip the bandages off of his face when a set of strong hands caught his own and stilled them. He was still yelling for a bit so he was having trouble hearing the person over his own elevated voice.

"Fred"  
"FRED!"

Finally, he was able to hear the voice calling out to him, and he stopped fighting against the set of hands that was struggling to keep him from taking off the bandage. His heart was racing and the blood was pounding in his head making his hearing feel almost stuffy.

"Fred what's wrong?" He finally could hear clearer the voice that had been calling out, but as he stared across the darkness he was not able to find the disembodied voice that belonged to Velma.

"... I can't see anything..." As he spoke the memory of the accident in the darkroom came back to him. The explosion, the smoke and then his vision going out. He remembered it all and he sunk against her grip as he recalled his situation.

Not saying anything, Velma sat at the edge of the bed and pushed lightly against him to guide him back to lay down on the bed. Her slightly cold fingers drew a short line across his forehead to thankfully find he didn't have to worry about a fever on top of the fact tat he couldn't see. Even though he couldn't see, he could still hear the sound of Velma chewing upon her bottom lip. It was the faint sound of her lips parting and her sucking in on the lip so her teeth could chew on it. He might have been more intrigued about the way he knew what she was doing, if he wasn't still trying to calm down from his frightful awakening.

"Is he ok?" Came a quiet call from the door. Almost as if they didn't want him to hear the question. Velma shifted her position on the bed and spoke.

"He's fine, he just had a rough awakening." He could tell she was moving her hands to do some type of hand gesture, but without the gift of sight he could do little know know what she was saying in front of him. That angered him a bit, but he could understand that they were worried too, and they didn't want to say certain things out loud. But he wasn't stupid, just blind.

"Ok, well let me know if you need anything." Daphne mentioned before he could hear her feet shuffling away. She must have been in her slippers, since it made a flip flopping sound that they tended to make since they had an open back and her heel was not restricted by the show so that it flopped as she walked.

"I'm glad you are ok..." Velma had not shifted back to look at him, but spoke more at the door. Slowly, she seemed to move back to where she had been sitting, facing him and looking fully at the wrapping about his head. Unable to see his eyes beyond to get a better feel for what he was feeling. There is a lot of emotion that can be portrayed in the eyes, and a bandage made it hard to see most of besides an occasional eyebrow wiggle underneath.

He gave her a look, well the best he could in the situation and scowled a bit. "You call this ok?" He growled unhappily.

Holding her tongue from responding with more of a sting, she tried to keep in mind he was the one hurt. It wasn't the most polight kind of response, but given the situation he was allowed a bit to be snippy.

Crossing his arms, he turned away and let the air hang for a while. As much as she wanted to snap him out of his huff, she let him be angry for a bit so he would get it out. The seconds ticked away without either talking. The feeling about the room was pensive, and felt like you could cut it with a knife. Fred's mind went from defensive agreement about his right to be angry, to debating if it was a right things to yell at Velma since it wasn't her fault... To feeling bad at what he had done, even though Velma was just trying to help.

"Velma I'm..." He had turned back, softened his frown and let his arms uncross. Velma moved to press a finger to his mouth to quiet him.

"Shhh. I know. But as I was saying I'm glad you were ok." Her voice was soft and filled with tones of understanding. "The sound of the explosion and the smoke, I was worried that there was more of a problem. I am not saying that this is something easy to deal with, but at least both of you guys are alive and in one piece."

She was right. As much as he was angry that he was blind, he was not hurt. Flexing his fingers, he knew they were all there. Sighing, he knew that he could still breath ok. Any mental check he did he found everything was still there besides he fact he couldn't see.

With more of a joking response he sighed again and responded to her. "...I hate when you are right."

He heard a small chuckle from her as she was happy he was lightening up and made a bantering comment. Sarcasm was always a good sign of recovery, or at least acceptance. Sometimes it was easier when you would accept what was wrong and dealt with it rather then deny what was going on, or just stay angry. Nothing could get done if you struggle against people trying to help.

"... So this is how you feel when you loose your glasses." He muttered, getting a playful punch against his shoulder for it.

"Yeah mister. Now you know." She shook her head but most likely was smiling as usual from that kind of remark.

"... And knowing is half the battle..." Fred added, which gained a groan from Velma. She seemed to move and by the sounds of her sweater he figured she covered her face.

"What? Don't like G.I. Joe's?" Fred asked innocently. He would have batted his eyes lashes at her, but it kinda was useless as being blindfolded.

She laughed. "Now I know you're feeling better."

Her laughing quieted down and they sat there in a bit of silence for a while. The awkward kind that seemed to appear once a uncomfortable or difficult conversation had came to an end.

She seemed to be shifting her wait to get up. Fred shot out a hand and grabbed her arm before she got to far. She paused, half getting up to look back over at him. Settling down she sat back on the bed as he clung to her sweater. Squeezing it once, he loosened his grip but still held on.

"..." He wanted to say something, but he felt odd asking for it. Moving his head away for a bit, he fumbled about his mind to find the way to say it.

"Can you..." He started...

"Yes?" Velma's voice seemed confused, though she didn't move from his grip.

"... I mean. If it's not to much trouble... Well..." He stuttered, not being able to stick to one sentence.

"... Get on with it Jones." Velma sighed, but her voice gave away her amusement.

"... Yes. Well." He turned back and moved his free hand to pretend to cough. As if that was holding him back from getting the sentence out fully.

"... Can you visit me again?" He whispered, turning away a bit to itch at his nose. Velma laughed and patted his hand.

"Yes. I'll come back and visit you." She said reassuringly.

"Ah, good... Well, only if you have a spare minute to spend and such." He babbled to try to not force her to come, more like ask if she-would-be-nice-enough-when-ever-she-could-and-poke-her-head-in-to-say-hi rather then admit he just wanted someone by his side all the time while he couldn't see anything.

She patted his hand again and seemed to have nodded since the bed moved under where she was sitting.

"Though..." She started.

"Though?" He repeated confused, wondering what the problem could be.

"... I need my arm back so I can leave in order to come back." She responded with a amused tone to her voice.

"Oh..." He then released her arm and gave it a smoothing motion to get the wrinkles out of where he grabbed. Velma got up and ruffled his hair a bit before the sounds of her feet were about where he judged the door of his room to be.

"I'll be back." She tried to mimic the Austrian actor, but failed. Fred smiled and gave a wave though not knowing if she would even see.

Leaning back into his pillow he found himself staring at the darkness that made up his vision. It felt odd, since the bandages were around his head. It almost felt like where ever he turned, the blackness was moving with him even though he couldn't see anything. Moving his hands, they sought out his blanket on his bed. It wasn't terribly cold, but there was a sense of comfort with his own blankets. Pulling them up and over him, he felt the reassuring light weight the blanket had. The edges he moved between his fingers and he recalled from memory what the blanket itself looked like. His fingers wandered across the edge to the stitching that bordered the whole thing and he traced it as far as he could before bringing his hand back to rest upon his chest. He could move his head and feel all the lumps in his pillow and to his surprise could tell which area's were thinner and where he had to sew it back up after a slightly more energetic round of pillow fighting had resulted in it breaking open and showing the room with the stuffing contained inside. So many things that were always around, but he had not paid any attention to before since he had known they had been there but took no notice to the things around him.

Stifling a yawn, he started to feel tired again. Settling into his blankets, he gave up and drifted off to sleep. 


	4. Stages of Acceptance: Start

One thing about not being able to see if the inability you have to judge how much time has passed since you closed your eyes and then opened them up again. Also to even know if you are truely awake, or if the darkness that greeted you is just part of your mind hitting the end of your dream and deciding if it wants to start up again, or let you wake up.

Fred pondered his situation as he lay on his bed. He knew it was his because of several things. His blanket was one thing, even though he had never been blind before, there were times at night he would wait to drift off to sleep and while he was getting into a comfortable position feel parts of the bed as he moved. His experience with living on the road and sleeping in strange places helped make him familiar with the things he most preferred... His own belongings.

The same was for his pillow, which he had noticed the... well last time he remembered being awake he noticed it, and it's particularities.

Another thing he noticed was the fact that he was still in his clothing from earlier and that wasn't exactly the best bed where as the pants were a tad bit uncomfortable from the rolling around he had done when he had slept, and he bet he was putting numerious wrinkles in his nice white shirt. But he wasn't exactly able to dress himself and it was a bit to awkward to ask either of the girls to help with this matter and Shaggy for all he would know could dress him in random colors and he would never know. So for now he would have to suffer his normal clothes for a bit longer till someone at least helped him find better pants...

'Why me?'

He wondered, but he had know the right answer. It was his own fault for mixing the wrong things, even though he knew better. He had just not been paying enough attention to what he was mixing rather then the enjoyable debate he was having with Daphne about stores closing to early. Not that he terribly cared about the subject as much as she did, but it was amusing to get Daphne riled up about something and Shopping was a good subject to pick on.

'So it's my fault, but I didn't deserve to loose my sight just because I was in a stupid argument.'

It wasn't fair. Why did it have to happen to him? It's not like he deserved to be Blind.

Why couldn't it have happened...

'No... I wouldn't want it to have happened to Daphne. Or any of the gang... That is such a stupid way out of this. No way would I want my friends hurt in this position.'

He chided himself for thinking such thoughts, but with nothing but the bandage as his companion at the moment he felt little besides self pity. It was easy to see the world as bleak when there was nothing good to 'see'. It wasn't the end of the world to be blind, many people lived normal lives with it, it would just be something he would have to learn to adjust to and change his life around.

'But the Mysteries! I'll never be able to drive, or see the clues or even the bad guys we will be hunting. I would loose all my years of work to have to start all over!'

His mind wailed at him. The idea of never being able to do another mystery in the same way frightened him. He had dedicated his life to helping people, and now he would have to be helped himself.

'I'll never get to find another clue... I'll never see the scary houses that scare Shaggy and Scooby so much... I'll never be able to see anything anymore..." He paused. "... I'll never see the faces of the gang again..."

Drawing up his blanket he clung to the only thing comforting him at the moment. The light weight of the material against his body was a slight reassurance. He was ok now. In bed. Safe. But how long would that last? And how long before his mind would either get past the stage of self pity, or into depression?

Clinging to the blanket, he has stressed himself out with his negative thoughts he became tired and fell asleep again.  



	5. Denial Derailed by Guilt

Waking up Fred inwardly groaned as his hand moved up and felt the bandage across his eyes. It was the usual gauze kind of wrap, and he could feel the texture as his fingers wandered across it. 

'Still there...'

He sighed. He was about to pick up where he had last left off, his self pity party and such, when he heard a voice. It was a small voice seeming to be coming from where he judged the doorway to be.

"Fred?"

It called out softly, almost like it was seeking him out but not sure if they wanted to actually find him. The shuffling of feet could be heard further off in front of him, but he could not lock on it through the muffling effect of the bandage.

Absentmindedly, Fred tried to visually scan the area. But still unable due to the blindfold he then instead strained his ears to pick out who and where the person was calling from. At least trying to narrow it down besides 'possibly in the room'.

"Fred? Are you awake?"

The voice had come closer. And had been spoken a bit louder then before, enough for Fred to finally be able to make out who the voice belonged to. It was Daphne.

"Ugh."

Fred grunted as he tried to sit up. He pushed back his blankets and shifted his weight to lean on his arms to get more upright. Using one of his hands, he sought out the head of his bed to slid up against to lean on and be in more of a sitting position. Once basically there, he spoke.

"... Come on in Daphne."

Listening, he heard her flick on the light and move more into the room. She was able halfway between the door and the bed when he paused, shuffling to a stop. She must have been wearing her slippers since they were dragging across the floor. She muttered something before she moved back across, further away from him to flick the light back off before making it to his bed.

"What was that about?" Fred asked mildly curious. It didn't make any sense why he should care if the lights were on or off since he couldn't see anything either way.

"Well... I need to change the bandage and I didn't want the room lights to aggrivate your eyes like the doctor had said."

Fred nodded his head. It made sense, though this was going to be a bit odd. He knew that the bandage had to be changed, but he didn't really know how long had indeed passed to require it. Daphne had moved further up the bed, before stopping.

"I'm going to move by your side. So just letting you know." Daphne informed him. He really didn't care to much at the moment, still sulking from the time before. He only gave her a nod for an agreement, moving his head in her direction to make it easier for her to remove it.

She was silent as she started to take the bandage off. Removing the tape that held it in place she moved slowly around his head and Fred could sense the pressure gradually lessening as the layers were pulled back. It was some time, and several layers peeled off before Daphne finally spoke.

"... It's my fault..."

She said with a whisper. Had Fred not only had the option to be listening to things, he might have missed it. He frowned for a bit at her claim. It really wasn't her fault, even though he was still unhappy and might want to blame her for it. But no matter how annoyed at the situation he could get, he it wasn't in him to blame her for something that was his own fault.

"It's not your fault." He replied simply. He was going to continue when she cut in before he got a chance.

"Yes it is!" The guilt ridden squeak sounded from her as she stopped undoing the bandage to argue. "It was my fault you were there helping me out in the dark room! It was my you weren't paying attention to what you were doing! If I wasn't so argumentative we wouldn't have been arguing and I could have seen you grab the wrong thing!"

As much as he wanted to console her, she wouldn't let him get a word in.

"... If... If it wasn't for me. You wouldn't be like... this." She didn't use the word 'blind' but it was certainly added in without needed to be spoken.

"... I should have been paying attention... I shouldn't have asked you in the first place... It should have been m-"

Before she could wish the worst, Fred moved. Moving his hand to the best guess he could he aimed for her lips to shush her.

"Shhhh... It's not your fault."

There was a long pause as he held his finger to where he had thought her lips were... Though it was not moist like lips should be. Moving his finger slights to the sides, he was trying to figure out where he might have put it.

"Fred?" There was a pause as he was still trying to figure it out.

"Fred... That's my nose. But the thought is noted." She commented, with a bit of a chuckle at the end.

That was a relief. He really didn't like any of his friends to be sad. And having Daphne all guilt ridden wasn't making him feel any better. Plus it was kind of hard to feel bad when someone else was already doing a better job then he was.

Moving slowly, he brought up his second hand to her face. Waiting to see if she pulled back, he then moved to slowly feel her face. If he was going to be blind, he might have to get used to doing this to 'see' his friends now. He started with her nose. Beeping it once, he then moved down to finally find her mouth. He placed the finger once where he meant to get it before.

"Ok, next time it's more here..." He put it on her mouth. ".. Then here..." He poked her nose. She snickered, giving a bit of a sniffle. His brows furrowed as the sniffle gave away something. His hands went back to her face and moved from her nose to her damp cheeks. He moved up and found she had been crying. Grabbing part of his blanket he closed her eyes with one hand and dabbed the edges of her eyes with the blanket.

Her hand came up and grabbed the hand that had the blanket.

"...You got my make-up all over your blanket now..."

Fred had moved his head as if he was looking at the blanket in his hand ans shrugged.

"That's ok. Not like I can see it."

He could feel her smile against his other hand that had moved to hold her cheek and she leaned into his hand.

"...Thanks." She said softly. He smiled at her and then ruffled her hair.

"No need. I didn't blame you. It was my fault. Plus, for all we know it's just temporary." He tried to see it positively, thought the back of his mind made sure to remind him of the possible. "... Now I think we should finish, or I'll be half bandaged."

Daphne sniffed one more time and then laughed. She moved her hands to finish pulling the bandages off. The little cotton pads were still stuck to his eyes and she told him to close his eyes. Obeying, he closed his eyes and felt the last bit of the restrictions leaving his face.

He felt light. It was an odd feeling to finally be able to feel no bandage after having it on for so long. He wanted to open his eyes to just risk a look. But the stern words of the Doctor came to his mind and he didn't want to push his possibilities of getting his sight back if he didn't follow the instructions the Doctor gave him.

Soon he could feel a new set of pads being placed upon his eyes. Daphne placed them on but one fell off.

"Whoops. Heh." She giggled once as she tried to put it on but then the second fell off.

"Ack... Quit moving." She accused Fred as she put it on his face again.

"Who, me?" He smirked mischievously and moved his head as if he was trying to find who was talking to him, which knocked the pads off again.

"Grrrrr... Hold still." She picked up the pads and moved to place it when Fred moved his head again.

"Daphne? Where did you go?" But the smile on his face gave away his intentions. She grabbed his face and pulled it to face her.

"Alright mister. Enough games." Her tone was slightly annoyed. Bringing up a hand he traced the smile that was upon her face and knew she was joking like him. He wiggled a finger back and forth her lips making her make a funny noise before she pulled back her head.

"Very funny. Now seriously, we have to put this back on."

He behaved and soon she was applying the wrap back upon his face. The pressure was back, but oddly it didn't feel as overwhelming now. Daphne's hands left his head and then moved to push him back against the head of the bed.

"You should rest a bit more. Soon it will be the end of the week and we'll be able to take these off forever." She added positively.

"Yeah. Thanks Daphne." Fred said honestly.

She patted his head and ran a hand down his face.

"Get some rest. I'll come back to check on you later." She let go of his face and moved away. He could hear her get closer to the door as he lowered himself back to laying down.

"Night." She seemed far away. Fred yawned and gave her a little wave.

"Night."


	6. Beyond The Bed

There was an unsettling feeling as Fred groggily struggled to get fully awake. Things seemed normal, his blanket, his pillow. But there was something added that was making it all feel strange... It was the rather large weight that was settled upon the bed with him. 

Was it one of the gang?

It was a rather heavy weight, but not one that was too heavy upon him. But then again many times he had carried his companions so they didn't really seem all that heavy then either...

He was blind, not dying or sick. So it seemed really odd that someone was sleeping curled up upon his bed. Who could it be? And why were they sleeping there? Did something happen?

"Hello?" Fred finally was awake enough to find his voice. He called out to the lump upon his bed. It was slow, but the weight started to shift upon the bed as who ever seemed to be turning to face him.

"Reddy?" The deep voice called out. It was Scooby, which was a relief. It made more sense that the dog of the group was cuddling with him rather then waking up to find Shaggy or either of the girls in a ball at his feet. That would have been just weird.

"Hey Scooby." Leaning up on an elbow, Fred moved forward to skritch Scooby somewhere being able to find the dog's scruffy head and giving it a scratch. The dog returned to the scratch with a drooly lick upon his hand, which Fred wiped it off upon Scooby's own head rather then his blanket, but the Dane didn't seem to mind.

"Do you know what time it is?" With the constant darkness, it was hard to know just when was now. He was also curious how many days it has been, since his odd sleeping schedule had messed up his sense of time and for all he knew he could still be on the same day, or three days later.

There was a long pause as the Dane gave the question a think over. Then again Dog's weren't exactly the best judge of time either.

"R'i ron't row. R'ut r'are rou rungry Reddy?"

The growl of his stomach was more then enough of an answer to that question. He certainly wasn't sure when he last ate but it was a long time ago either way so food would be good. Though he really didn't want the food brought to him. He was sick of being in bed and he would prefer eating in the kitchen and not leaving bits in his bed. When all you have is the sensation of touch, crumbs in bed could grow really annoying.

Fred tried to get up, but with the skill only a pet could acquired he was pinned down by where Scooby had curled up. With some futile wiggles, Fred gave up to poke the Dane.

"... You mind getting up? I'm kinda stuck here."

Fred pointed to where he was and the position of Scooby's mass with the mild twists of the blankets moved by sleep that had become like a constricting boa wrap around him. Scooby seemed to look where Fred was pointing since he subtlety shifted before he got the picture.

"R'hoops Reddy. Rorry."

Pushing off the bed the weight was gone and Fred was able to untangle himself from the blankets. With the last bits of the blanket falling away from him, the cold of the room greeted him and he missed his bed already. But his growling stomach was more pressing then hopping back in bed so he scooted to the edge of the bed and placed his feet upon the cold floor.

"Whoa." Pulling up his feet for a second, his bare feet were not prepared for the chilly wooden floor. Scooby seemed to hear or have been watching him since second later he felt his slippers being placed on his feet.

"Scooby?" He asked, since he was not sure if anyone else had been in the room or had entered since he had gotten up.

"R'ep! Rou ranna r'me ro relp rou ro rha ritchen?"

It took a bit for Fred to translate Scooby speak to the sentence that had been said.

"...You... want me to help you to the... Oh, sure Scooby. It would be a lot better with a bit of help instead of stumbling about. But if you could go slow, that might help."

What better then a seeing eye dog. And it was also a homing pigeon dog when it came to the kitchen. So if food was involved Fred was sure to get where he wanted to go. Moving to his feet, he felt better with his slippers on his feet against the chilly floor. Waving his hands a bit, Fred found the awaiting fuzzy head. Thankful Scooby was a Dane instead of like a toy poodle, Fred stood up all the way and leaned upon Scooby's head until he got his balance. It wasn't like he lost it, but without being able to see, the floor and ceiling weren't so straight forward as it used to be.

Scooby seemed to wait patiently during it all as he held his head as still as he could beyond the probably glances that he was ok, and shifting under the weight.

Feeling steady, Fred nodded to Scooby who stood up and started to lead the two of them.

"R'ere r'is ra roor." Scooby spoke up as they reached the door. Fred's hands sought it out and felt up the side of wooden opening. In his mind he knew it's color and his hands felt the age's that the door had seen. Both the gang living in the house and how ever many people that had gone before. Who knew how many people had passed through this door like he had been right now?

Fred's thoughts were pulled away from the odd pondering thoughts as Scooby continued down the hall. Using his hands, he felt the side of the wall as his hand migrated to Scooby's collar to hold on better then his fuzzy head.

"R'iars"

The Dane commented bring up a paw to stop Fred from walking off down the next section. With a bit of translation, Fred figured they had gotten to the stairs and he had almost walked off down them. Leading an inquisitive slipper, it found the edge of the hall that merged into the first stair. Patting his hand around he found the railing that adorned the sides of the stairs. Gripping it, he felt a lot more confident.

"Thanks Scooby." He gave him a pat on the head then focused on the stairs. Gripping the railing with both hands he shifted his body sideways to face the railing and start down. One foot ventured down and found the next stair as he clung to the railing before shifting his weight to the bottom foot. The floorboard made a slight groaning sound as he applied his weight upon it. He never really realized how loud it sounded, but then again most of the time he was traveling down it without a care for it's groaning complaints to notice.

One creak came after another as he progressed down the stairs. It was just the old house being old, but it was somewhat unsettling to find oneself in darkness and accompanied by the moaning of the stairs.

"Freddy!" A shout came from the bottom of the stairs. From the unhappy and sudden tone, it had to be Daphne. He felt like he was getting yelled at by his mom, like the one time when he young and was sick he crawled out of his bed with a fever so he could watch cartoons. He frowned a little, he was an adult now, and it wasn't exactly like he was doing anything bad... or off to watch cartoons.

"What do you think you are doing?" Her motherly tone continued. He felt like making a face at her.

"I'm going down the stairs. What does it look like?" He ventured to take one hand off the railing he was clinging for deal life to motion at him walking. Scooby was quick to agree, as the Dane had been trailing behind him.

"Rah rah, r'es rungry!" And it was obvious he was not just speaking on Fred's behalf. The Dane and his companion usually looked for any excuse to eat if they could.

Fred continued down the stairs and he figured Daphne was probably shooting him a 'get back in bed' worried look. Getting to the bottom it was as if he could sense her nearby as she had shifted to let him get down with enough room. Raising his head about where he remembered her height to be, he smile.

"Don't worry. I'm fine, just need a bit of fresh air and some food."

He heard a annoyed noise from Daphne, but figured she would get over it. It he was going to be a bad boy and get out of bed he was going to have his cake and eat it too.

"Now what's all this racket?" Came another voice. With the sound of the door opening in front and beyond him he knew it was coming from Velma's room. That and it wasn't squeaky enough to be Shaggy.

"Oh, it looks like the living dead decided to join us. How you doing Fred?"

Fred smiled. Finally someone who wasn't treating him like a little kid. He gave her a wave and released the railing fully since his slipper had done it's recon mission and found as far as he could reach without looking silly that he was on the floor.

"Hungry." Was the only response he gave her. She laughed.

"I am not surprised. It's been three days. We should have fed you earlier, but you've been sleeping a long time so we figured to let your body rest."

No wonder he was so hungry. Though it was nice to finally know a time span. Though a bit mind boggling to know he had slept through most of those days, it was at least three days less he had to wait till the bandage would be off and he could find out if it would be over, or he would have to live with this the rest of his life.

"Come on, we'll help you to the kitchen. I think Shaggy expected you since I can smell something good coming from the kitchen." Daphne offered, caving in for his need to be up and about when she would prefer him being in bed and resting. She moved around by his side by the stairs and gently took up on of his hands, Velma moved up beside his other side and took an elbow. The both of them tugged him slightly so he would follow their lead. Scooby didn't mind having his job taken from him, he instead could be heard trotting ahead.

Fred grinned when he realized the situation he was in. Walking down the hallway with both girls at his arms. If Velma noticed, she didn't say anything about his smug smile. But Daphne did.

"What's with that smirk?" Fred paused a bit before he gave her an answer.

"Guys would be so jealous of me right now. With two lovely ladies at my side leading me about blind." Fred flattered Velma and Daphne. Velma continued to stay quiet thought Fred could not see her reaction but he sure felt Daphne's. She backhanded him across the chest.

"ow..." He pulled up his unoccupied hand from Velma's side since she had his elbow. Though it really wasn't as hard as he knew Daphne could hit him, he wasn't expecting it.

"That's what you get. Hmph." Daphne turned her head away, at least it seemed like she did with the movement he felt from the hand that still held onto his. Velma from his other side snickered.

He felt Daphne turn back and there was a pause before she herself laughed at it.

"Then again... it's kinda hard to take you serious looking like that..."

Fred Stopped and pulled the two of them to a stop. He was confused. He looked like what? What did he look like that Daphne found so funny?

"Like what?" He said with a bit of a pout in his voice.

"Disheveled. Wrinkly... That certain attire one gets from sleeping in his clothes for the last few days... And," She paused to play with a bit of his hair that was sticking out from the top of his head from under the bandage.

"... Frumpy?" Velma offered. Daphne laughed.

"Frumpy works. Fred Frumpy. Hee Hee."

The girls both laughed. Fred could only imagine what he looked like. When he would get back to his room, he would try to put on something else. He felt it was better for him to try by himself, so that if he does mis-clash in colors it would be his own fault, and not one of the gang's idea.

"Food?" Fred nudged them both to try to get them closer to the kitchen door. He was so close, he could smell the meal that was awaiting him beyond the door. Taking his hint, then continued to move though chuckling under their breath. Well, he had started it, so he really couldn't complain when he got it right back. Moving to the door, Daphne pushed it open so they could all fit.

When the door opened, the smell hit him like running into a wall. It smelled wonderful, and his stomach growled in agreement.

"Ah, like' there you guys are! I was wondering what took you guys so long. Come on in!"

Being pulled along, Fred was dropped off at the table they had in the kitchen and the girls vanished from his sides to help Shaggy and Scooby set up the meal.

"What we having to eat?" 

* * *

_If anyone is interested in seeing some fanart for this chapter. Click my 'homepage' on my profile and it's under 'Randomness. Come Chat' section. Toki_


	7. Mystery Meal

"What we having to eat?"

---------------------------

As soon as the words left his mouth, he wasn't sure if he wanted to know the answer. There was something about it that made him feel this way. Maybe it was the small giggle from Daphne, or the vast silence that came after it. But either way he had a bad feeling about it.

He could hear them shifting about, and next thing he knew he heard the plates being set around him. But the silence was killing him.

"Guys?..." He asked tentatively.

"Oh don't like' worry Fred. We're just setting up. I decided since your a bit er..." Shaggy paused for a second. Fred couldn't tell what was going on beyond the bandage, but he figure he was looking at the girls for help.

"Hindered?" Velma suggested.

"That will work." Shaggy commented, the paused again. "...What she said. So I came up with a meal we can all enjoy with our hands."

Well, that certainly made eating easier, but why they had to be so hush hush made him nervous. It was always a bad thing when they all got together to make mischief.

"..."

But before he could question them he heard the plate being put finally directly in front of him. It made a clunk sound as the plate hit the table cloth over the wooden table that sat in the kitchen. They usually only used the large dining table in the dining room when someone was visiting or some type of celebration.

"Since your up and about, we are going to play a little game." Daphne began. "You are going to guess the food!"

He was about to protest till he heard the sound of something hitting the plate. It sounded heavy as it hit the plate. It had a bit of a splattering sound, but he was not able to smell what it really was.

"...So... I just guess?" He said confused.

"No no no..." Shaggy piped up. "You use your hands, then you guess."

Raising one eyebrow Fred moved his head as if he was looking down at the plate. He couldn't see it, but that didn't stop him from wanting to just peek and cheat. Sighing, he gave in. His stomach was making far to much noise for him to ignore. He was about to lean over when he had an amusing thought.

"Hey Velma, can you come over here?"

She must have been making a face, since it took her a confused few seconds before she tapped his shoulder saying she was there.

"Lean over."

Leaning over he could feel her light breath upon his cheek that was exposed. Moving up her shoulder he traced her ear up to the rim of her glasses. Plucking the glasses off her nose he placed it upon his own over the bandage.

"Ok, now I'm ready to solve this mystery." Fred said with a grin. He was rewarded by a grumble by Velma.

"...Very funny."

Ready to solve the mystery of the mystery meal. Though he knew it wasn't going to be as bad when he was younger and in school. Those were some mysteries that were better left unknown, mostly for your own sound of mind when trying to eat it.

Bringing his hands up he warily brought it up to the item on his plate. Not that he was expecting anything to bite him, it was still hard to blindly reach out for something unknown. The first thing he noticed was the fact that it was very bumpy and warm. Running down the ridges, it seemed mildly moist and occasionally stringy. Tugging on the strings, some came off easy while others seemed deeper woven. It seemed to get smaller bumps as it got to one end while the other side was a lot bigger. Running his fingers down the length of it, it seemed almost as long as his forearm. And one side seemed to be more pointed, as the other seemed to be blunt and had like a cap to it. At least like it was almost broken off of something.

"You got an idea?" Shaggy asked, Fred could hear the smile in his voice.

"Well, normally I thought that these were supposed to hand handles. But I don't think I mind it to much as finger food as long as I have plenty of butter laying about." Sniffing it he confirmed that it wasn't pre-buttered, and that the moisture was most likely the water it was boiled in. "Corn on the Cob."

"Ding ding ding!" Daphne cheered. "We have a winner. And now you can keep that. If you guessed wrong we would have fed it to Scooby."

"R'oh Roy! Rum rum rum!" Scooby seemed to like the idea, Fred frowned. His face made the others laugh.

"Don't worry, they won't take the food away from you." Velma commented, letting Fred know Daphne was just messing with him.

"R'aw 'rucks..." Scooby was a bit disappointed, snapping his didgets, the others laughed again. Fred could hear Shaggys laughter grow quieter as he disappeared deeper into the kitchen to get the next part of the guessing game meal.

Waiting, Fred took a few bites from the corn. As his teeth sunk in, he was able to pay more attention and notice as he bit in the corn kernels seemed to burst with a pop and mild flavor of the corn. Simple, but since he was hungry it seemed like a royal feast to him. Anything was good when you were hungry.

"Next up!" Shaggy called as it sounded as if a faucet had been turned on as many things seemed to hit his plate. Though the sound wasn't wet as if actual water was falling upon the plate. Just by the sound they made they seemed to be many small bits. The smell hit him and he was pretty sure what they were. His mouth watered but he continued his 'investigation', just to make sure. He really didn't want to loose any of these to Scooby.

As he started to move his hands, he heard Velma pull out the chair and settle in the seat next to him. He paused before his hands hit the food and was about to take the glasses to return them when he realized he had corn fingers. Leaning forward, he tried to be nearby enough for Velma to be able to take them off.

"Hey Velm's, wanna take back your glasses so you can see? I would but..." He held up his fingers in front of him. A laugh sounded off behind him as he felt hands come from the back of his head and remove the glasses from that angle.

"That's Scooby beside you, I'm back here..." Velma's voice sounded in fact behind him. Well so much for keeping track of them by voice alone. It certainly was harder then he thought. Leaning his head back he apologized.

"Sorry."

"Not a problem. Are you going to guess?" She asked.

'Looking' back to the plate, Fred grabbed one of the little bits and gave it a small squeeze. It felt just the right combination of a slightly soggy bounce and a firmness. Tossing up the food, he caught it in his mouth with a crunch.

"Mmmm... French fries..." He paused. "Crinkle cut too."

He had felt the mild ridges of the fries and the smell along gave it away. Shaggy was always a great fry maker when it came to heating in the oven. It was never to overly soft or burnt. Just right in Fred's opinion.

"Alright, we'll give that to you." Daphne commented with a tone of amusement. "... But no cheating next time."

"Hey, it would have been more cheating if it was like a waffle cut." Fred complained with a smile. His hands worked to pick the perfect sized fries first and worked a bit on the corn as he waited for the next part. So far he was enjoying the meal.

Maybe there was more to this... Fred's mind had as a passing thought before the next food hit his place.

He had made enough room with the fries he ate and pushed the rest around the sides for the other bits. The next food made splattering sounds as they hit the plate. He figured it was something that was in water like the corn had. He tried to smell it but the fries smelled better and louder then what ever had been added on the plate. Hands came up and wandered the plate. What ever they were, they had a pool of liquid around them. With a quick brush, the outside of the food seemed damp. It was slick in some parts, but other parts seemed rougher. It was several bits like the fries but they were a lot firmer then the squishy soft fries. Very solid, not something that could be flattened. Grabbing part in each hand, Fred gave it a bend. With a crisp snap the food part broke in half. Placing half down, a finger felt the middle of the break and found that it felt like there was almost a separate center in the middle, like a ring.

"...Does this match Velma?" Fred asked offhandedly, "...or, well my ascot."

"... What makes you think it does?" He could swear that Daphne was saying that past a grin.

"Well..." He held the piece in front of himself, rotating it back and forth like he was looking at it from all angles. "I'm thinking this is a carrot. And Uncooked and crisp that had been peeled before it soaked."

That would account for the slicker parts with the rougher bits and why it was wet.

"Not bad." Velma replied from behind, her voice moving with her as it seemed like she was finally sitting down at the table. The chair made a noise as it slid back and allowed Velma to sit in it.

"Alright hot shot, one thing left." Daphne snickered as they pulled out the big guns. Fred was grinning and ready for it. Three out of four wasn't too bad. Munching on the carrot end he had broken, he waiting for the challenge.

"Alright, there is a few parts to this, so we'll put down one after another and then at the end you have to guess."

He heard the soft sound of the first bit touching the plate. He paused to wait and then brought his hands up to touch the first bit. It was squishy, a very soft food that he figured to be a type of bread. The general shape gave away that it was most likely a bun or something similar.

"Alright next one." He was told. There was a pause as he knew someone had passed in front of him with something, but as for sound he could not hear the next part being put on the plate. Fred waiting, not sure if it was there or not.

"It's on there, try." Shaggy offered, Fred tilted his head at him and then back to the plate. Bringing hands up again, he felt the bun but felt something had been draped over it. It was cold, but a solid piece of what ever it was. Thin, but was a lot thicker then like paper. Tracing the edges. it seemed rectangular or square in shape. A bun... plus?

Oh, it must be like cheese. Those are square. Bringing up the bun to his nose, he was able to smell the faint aroma and nodded. It certainly smelled like a type of cheese. Thankfully, not any of the stinky cheeses either.

Placing the bun down, Fred allowed the next part to be placed down. He had a pretty good idea what was being made, but he still wasn't sure exactly what kind of meat they might use for it, so he held his tongue for it all. The Dane was not getting this meal. Eyes or not, he was always up for a challenge and this was proving an eye opening one, so to speak.

The next part was lightly set down. Almost too hot to the touch, but it must have been out to cool before he got to poke it. The top of the next layer was bumpy. The outside was not slick like a piece of chicken, and didn't feel like it was something breaded. Pushing against it, there was a resistance and a bouncy back feeling. So he was ruling out ham as well, since it usually wasn't shaped as such when made for like a type of sandwich or such. So beef was the most logical choice. Picking up the plate he tried to smell the meat past the fries, and he was not able to lock on a particular smell that was familiar compared to the most common set of meats for these kinds of things.

"Back your hands up, I want to add like' the next part." Shaggy commented, then added facing a different direction. "Hey Daph. Why not serve everyone else since once the game it done we should all eat."

"Sounds good..." Daphne responded. "... No cheating now."

'What am I supposed to do... peek?' Fred's mind quipped back though he reserved the verbal commentary. He had a food to guess, so he brought his attention back and away from Daphne moving about and adding more sounds to intrude on his thoughts.

"Ok, try that one, and there is two more left."

Taking the ok from Shaggy, he moved to the next part. It had a familiar feeling as to one of the previous layers. He guessed that it was another square of cheese added on top of the meat. Looking to over where he guessed Shaggy stood, he nodded for the next piece.

"Even with Daphne making noise, he was still able to hear the almost crinkling sound the next part made. The more pressure Shaggy seemed to put on the food, the more it crackled and complained to the squeeze. Interesting...

Figuring it was down since he felt Shaggy move away, he brought up his hands. The texture was odd to feel. Almost like a wet piece of paper that had been crumpled in a ball several times and then tried to be flattened upon the cheese under it. Also raised bits seemed to snake all over the food. Tugging on a piece, it made a crisp snapping sound. Bringing the broken bit to his nose, he was able to smell a faint familiar smell. Smiling, he knew and then added the tiny bit back on the plate.

"Final layer." Shaggy chirped happily. The game was almost over. Fred was feeling confident. Picking up the stacking of food, he felt the bread-ish bottom have a partner top to it, wedging the rest of the meal into one of Shaggy's famous type sandwiches. Bringing it up to his mouth his stomach roared, driving him towards the first bite.

"Wait!" Yelled Daphne stopping him. He was about to drool it smelled so good together. "... You haven't guessed yet."

"It's a..." Taking a big bite Fred knew he was right. His teeth sailed delightfully thought the realms of flavor. From the goodness and simple flavor of the buns, to the rich spark of the two kinds of cheeses that boarded the meat, the Lettuce made a crunch as it hit his teeth, and finally they ended with a clack together. The flow of flavor hit his mouth as he chewed it. With the food still in his mouth he shifted it enough to be able to speak without loosing any of it. "...It's... Not a hamburger."

Confused, he thought he had it down. But the more he chewed he found that the rich meaty flavor he was expecting wasn't there. Well, it kinda tasted like beef, but not exactly the burger flavor he found missing.

"Ooooo... We have one loss. Dun dun duuuuun!" Velma seemed highly entertained about the whole thing. Her mouth seeming slightly occupied as her voice was muffled from behind some of the food she was in fact enjoying. Shaggy and Scooby had been such bad influencing on them all as even the girls were corrupted to talking with their mouths partly full.

"Up. I got to take away the whole plate." Daphne's foot falls grew from around the table as Fred swallowed the foot he had in his mouth and then dove to cover his meal.

"Grr... no touchy." He grumbled. The only response was laughter from all of them.

"... Well, your right. Your ascot does match the carrots very well. Carrot juice and everything." Daphne strained not to be laughing her head off as Fred has dove to cover his food and plopped his favorite accessory into the puddle the carrots were sitting in. Leaning up, Fred fingered the ascot and moaned as what she said was in fact true.

"Aw man..."

"Here..." Velma got up from nearby him and seemed to reach around him and quickly removed his soaked ascot. As the pressure left his neck, he felt almost naked without it. Especially now since he took far more stock in pressure and the sense or touch rather then his blinded sight.

"Oh don't pout." Velma said as Fred made a face as he sulked and chewed on some fries. "It was wrinkly anyway and needed to be washed. So don't make a face at me."

"Ro..." Scooby piped up from Fred's left side at where he had been sitting and watching. "R'oes rat rean Reddy's r'ood r'is rine?"

"No!" Came a chorus from everyone, including the challenging growl from Fred's impatient stomach.

"R'aw... R'hucks." 


	8. Harsh Realities

It was a harsh day that finally greeted Fred's eyes. The skies grew dark and heavy, as if burdened with a great weight. The sullen sky cast a dull color on everything, making it look almost back and white. Off in the distance the thunder rumbled with a fierceness that was giving a call for what was to come. Like a foreboding warning, sending a sign to Fred.

But he didn't care. With great relish, his eyes did soak up the scene that was brewing outside his window. He could see. His eyes had in fact healed and his first sight in days was one to be savored, it didn't matter how terrible it was looking. He was seeing it.

"Guys!" Fred called, bring his head away from the window to look at the door to the hallway. But only the storm outside seemed to answer as it was getting slowly worse. Leaving the window, he looked about his familiar belongings as he walked towards the hallway.

"Guys?"

Still silence hung in the air. He didn't like the feeling. Usually someone was home. Especially with all that had been happening. Pushing past his room, he ventured out into the hallway. Daphne's room? No... She was gone and nothing in her room gave a clue to where. A quick spin around the second floor showed no signs of anyone. Not a hide no hair of anyone, and even with repeated calls he could not hear anyone answering.

"They are probably downstairs." He told himself. Knowing that if they had been in the basement, he would not be able to hear them, nor they hear him. "... That's it. I'll just go down and find them."

Descending down the stairs, Fred peeked his head into the living room to find it to, empty. Shaking his head, he brought it around and poked into Velma's and Shaggy's room with the same result. So downstairs was the most logical area. Even the kitchen showed no sign of being used in a while, which was odd.

Shaking his head, Fred finally arrived at the basement door.

"Guys? You down there?"

Still... Nothing but the growing sound of the storm called back. The steps seemed to fade into the darkness that seemed to swallow the basement. He was tentative to enter the blackness again, on his own choice.

"Guys? This isn't funny."

He started out down the stairs. It was just the dark, and there was a light at the bottom. He still had his sight, so a little bit of darkness wasn't going to kill him.

"Stop being such a scaredy cat." He chided himself, though made a mental note to take it easier on Shaggy and Scooby sometimes for being scared.

Step after step the storm seemed grow louder as the light around him faded as he got deeper down. The first few steps were strong, but as the loss of sight drew closer, he hesitated. Looking back up the stairs, the comfort of the light above gave his feet motion to get further down. It took a few more looks to the light above for him to reach the landing below. It was impossible for him to see very far, as his hands seemed to be swallowed in front of him. Patting the wall, he sought out the light switch. With relief, he flicked the switch up.

Click.

The sound told him the switch had moved, but the result he was expecting wasn't coming.

"Stupid faulty switch, must be a loose wire." He muttered, making another mental note to ask Velma to take a look at it later. Sighing, he gave the switch another flick on and off. Still nothing. Now getting angry, Fred moved to flick the switch on and off, as many times as it would take to give him the result he wanted.

ClickclickClickclickClick...

He looked up to the light at the top of the stairs for comfort, and continued to persist against the stubborn light.

ClickclickClickcli-BOOM!

Thunder crashed around the house, The lightning that came with it flooding the house with a bright light that blinded Fred for a second at the suddenness... And then the whole world went black.

.

.

.

"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhh!"

Retching out of bed, Fred felt like the whole world was squeezing in around him. Darkness overwhelming like a blanket pressing around all sides. He was in a deep sweat and panting like he had run a marathon. It was only a dream.

Thunder rumbled beyond his sense of self, like a mocking laughter at the nightmare that it might have caused his subconscious to dream up. Bringing up a hand, the binding around his head brought to light the reality that he had not escaped yet. He was still blind, but the final result of it all had not yet happened.

Tomorrow... He would find out the truth. 


	9. Morning After The Storm

The storm seemed to last the day and only faded some time early the next morning. The day he would find out his fate.

After the fright of the night before, Fred found himself in the living room by the Bow windows in the front. He had found the place relaxing in the past to read books and such, so even without his sight the spot still was a comfort after such an ordeal. Daphne had helped him down stairs and to the spot, she even gave him a blanket before she had to turn in. She had woken up suddenly when he had yelled. He felt bad for her, so even though he was feeling uneasy, he told her to get some sleep.

It was many hours later when Shaggy came out to find Fred in the window.

Shaggy wasn't sure how long Fred had been there, or if he had fallen asleep, but the whole house was tense about today and Shaggy wanted to make sure Fred was ok. Shuffling a bit closer, he wasn't exactly sure what to say. He started to open his mouth as Fred turned to him.

"Good morning Shaggy... At least I think it's morning, right?"

Caught off guard, Shaggy gave a bit of a nervous laugh.

"Yeah Fred, it's morning. Today is the day..." He cut himself off, cautious if he wanted to bring it up. He was nervous enough as it was, and he wasn't even the one blind.

"I know. It's ok. I'm ok." Fred responded, bring his head around from looking at Shaggy to back to the window.

With a sudden nod, Fred spun around on the wood finish of the Bow window and faced Shaggy with a grin. His fingers rested on the edge as he hung his legs over and they hovered close to the ground.

"Shaggy, Let's get in the Mystery Machine and go for a ride, you drive!"

"...Fred."

"Ok, I'll drive." Sliding off his seat, he stood up with a grin and started to move forward when Shaggy grabbed him by the shoulders. With a worried look on his face, Shaggy directed Fred across the living room to the couch.

"Settle down for five minutes..." Shaggy said quietly, he didn't want Fred to get upset or anything. Fred didn't seem to mind as he walked to the end Velma always sat and sunk into the couch. He really didn't expect the sinking effect the worn area had and almost got swallowed. Taking a few moments of some frantic flailing he managed to get in a cross legged position and smooth out his tussled hair enough to face Shaggy.

"I think I like' know what you are trying to do."

"... Actually..." Fred tilted his head to the side a bit to have his face look in Shaggy's direction. "I don't think you do."

"You don't want to think about what might happen, so you keep running." Shaggy paused a second before continuing. "...I know why you are running, I do it all the time myself. I understand being scared. Out of all people, I understand being scared."

Shaggy laughed a bit and Fred's grin softened but didn't fade.

"I know. But that's not it." Shaggy's brows furrowed as he was confused at what Fred was saying. ".. I mean sure. When we go to the doctor, I pray I'll have my sight back..." Fred paused, his head wandering back to the window he knew was in front of him.

"... Something fascinating has been happening to me. One part of the world as closed down, but another has been opened up. Sure, I keep picturing myself being one of those guys on the street corner rattling some change in a tin cup, but I'm going through something here I didn't expect."

Getting up off the couch, though with a bit of difficulty since the couch wasn't cooperating, Fred stood and moved to the center of the room. His focus was on the window. Shaggy watched, eager to understand what Fred was trying to explain.

"..." Turning to face Shaggy, Fred continued. "This morning I spend countless incredible hours listening to the rainstorm. I found myself left alone last night after my nightmare awoke me with it for company... I didn't just hear it, it was like I was apart of it."

Fred moved across the room to finger the edge of the sill. A goofy smile played across his lips.

"... I bet you have no idea that rain hitting the bare ground makes the same sound as steaks when they are barbecuing... Or that thunder seems to echo forever." If Fred's eyes could see, they would have a far off look to them. "Shaggy... This is full of trap doors but I think that there may be a kind of advantage in this. I've never spent a more conscious day in my life."

Wandering up to stand next to Fred, Shaggy put his hand upon his shoulder and gave it a reassuring squeeze.

"I'll promise next rainstorm I'll sit with you and listen. Then we can really say if they sound like sizzling steaks." Shaggy smiled and bumped into Fred. Fred grinned and bumped him back but missed. Shaggy had to move to catch him before he fell. Grinning like an fool, he felt a tiny bit embarrassed.

"...Thanks buddy." Fred commented whole heartily to Shaggy, giving his arm a squeeze. Shaggy put his arm around Fred and started to lead him off.

"...That's what I'm here for. That and screaming like a little girl when there is danger. comme ci, comme ? eh?" He said with a smirk. Fred looked at him oddly.

"...Food yes food huh? I was never good with Spanish." Shaggy laughed and tugged Fred with him toward the kitchen.

"... Food sounds really good right now. What do you want, I'll make it for you."

"... Well, now that you mentioned steaks..."

Shaggy gave him a laugh.

"...I'll see what I can do."

* * *

_  
This chapter was inspired by the TV Show MASH. Season Five, Disk one, Episode one. "Out of Sight, Out of Mind." Where Hawkeye get's flash burn and is blinded. Many of the lines in this chapter were taken off of that episode. Also the idea for Fred's Flash burn was taken off of this episode. The rest of this whole story was based on a time I myself got stuck being blind for a day. Though unlike Fred, I knew I would be ok. Also I took from WNSD Fred's lack of skill for Language, I hope you get it. One more chapter to go. Thanks for reading with me so far._


	10. The End?

It's mysterious how certain things know that something is up... Time in this case knew it was the day Fred was going to have the bandage taken off his face so it was taking it's time arriving.

Like a snail, Time crawled to the point it was time to head to the doctors. With the girls at each arm, he was led through the house and outside. Helping Fred into the van he found himself between Scooby and Velma, sitting in Shaggy's usual seat in the back of the van.

"Are we all ready?" Shaggy called over his shoulder as everyone got in and Scooby helped Fred with clipping his seat belt in place. He tried to do it himself, but the darn buckle was being problematic and was giving him a hard time for his troubles. Not like he needed more. Leaning over, Scooby helped Fred in, the buckle easily clicking into place.

"Thanks Scoob."

"R'ou 'r relcome Reddy." Scooby gave Fred a slobbery lick and put on his own seatbelt. Even though seat belt laws in Ohio are not state restricted to put on a seat belt in the back seat if you are over a certain age... It was still a good idea so they all buckled up.

With a turn of the key, Fred felt the car rumble to life. It felt weird though to find himself in the back seat for once. Sure, on long trips they would rotate the driver and such. But he was more used to the cockpit seat the van had for the driver's side rather then the more springy seat that adorned the back of the van. With a little lurch as gas was applied to the Mysterious Machine, it was on it's way.

Fred found himself bored since he wasn't able to look out the window... Well not yet he at least hoped. So he focused on the car itself. It felt like there was more vibration in the back seats compared to the front since the positioning of them were more on top of things. The subtle leaning of the car gave away which direction Shaggy was turning. Fred could feel a hand move to squeeze his own reassuringly, from Velma's side but she said nothing to give away her intentions to the others. Fred smiled her way and hoped she saw it. The second squeeze seemed that she had seen.

"Thanks." Fred murmured, keeping his voice down. "I'm ok I think."

_Am I really ok?_ Fred wondered. It had been a rough few days and the doctor was the only one who would know if he'll be alright or not. He could feel his eyes moving back and forth beyond the wrap over his eyes... But would they work?

A sudden feeling came over him which derailed his negative thinking. Leaning into the feeling, the exposed parts of his face and hair moved. Someone had opened the window and the bursts of air were sent back towards him. The soft bursts pushed against his face were like gentle hands brushing past him. He found it hard to get his mind on track for his previous thoughts and for a moment, Fred was lost in the wind.

Time seem frozen as Fred found himself distracted, since before he knew it they had arrived at the doctors. Fred almost felt sad that the wind had stopped, since reality had to come in it's place.

_Next time... Next time it will be my choice to close my eyes and listen to the wind._ He thought to himself.

Escorted, Fred was lead up to the doctor's office. It was rather quiet when it came to the halls that came before the office, but beyond the doors was a flurry of activity. Small children cried and other older ones played loudly. Voices merged into one another as Fred flinched at the mass of sound. As he struggled to filter out the voices into sounds that could make sense to him, the gang had him sit upon on of the seats in the giant waiting room. The doctor they were waiting for had his practice shared with many others, so that accounted for the mass of screaming kids and other loud patients.

After a while Fred gave up trying to hear everything. He was just giving himself a headache trying to keep track of all the conversations. Though he did feel a tapping on his leg. He dismissed it though, since it was light and could merely be someone bumping into him that sat beside him. A shuffling noise came beside him in the chair on his left and the tapping was back. Though a bit stronger so that Fred would know someone was trying to get his attention.

"Mister?" A tiny voice called out clearly in the muffled noise of the room. Fred turned his head and tried to 'look' in the direction of the voice.

"Um.. yes?" Fred replied uneasy, feeling his blindness even more now then the car ride.

"Hey mister... Are you by chance a super hero?" He felt the little kid gripping his sleeve as he talked, tugging on it to emphasis his question.

Fred's face split into a grin. The one little simple question pushed away all of his fear and worry. It was a silly question, but sometimes life needs a bit of oddness to even out all the normality.

"If I was... Wouldn't it be bad if I revealed myself?" Silence followed for a bit before he could swear he heard the young boy smile.

"I'll keep your secret for you mister. Your secret is safe with me!"

The little boy tugged the sleeve again as he struggled to keep his voice quiet along with his growing excitement. Well, Fred was no caped crusader... Though he knew a few. But he certainly helped people in need. And wasn't that what a super hero was supposed to do?

"Thanks mister! My mom is calling me. I got to go. Bye bye Mister Hero." With the same shuffle, the boy had let go of Fred's sleeve and disappeared. Fred gave a wave that he hoped the boy saw.

"Heh heh... Super Hero eh?" Daphne's voice floated around him. Sliding into the seat the boy abandoned, Daphne chuckled at the image. "I think you would make a good super hero... Well as long as your power didn't have to involve making working traps for the villains." Fred made a sour face and Daphne giggled even more. She squeezed his arm.

"I'm kidding. I'm kidding. Come on Freddie, you can't ignore the fact your record precedes you." Daphne pointed out. She was right though.

"Yeah, but some work." He said with a huff, which earned him a hair ruffle.

"Yeah. Super Fred... No no, that sounds to silly. Plus it gives away your real identity. Let's see..." Daphne leaned into his arm while she thought. It wasn't exactly easy to get comfortable in those doctor office chairs.

"Wonder Boy... No that is taken already. Maybe The Ascot!" Daphne said the last bit a tiny smidgen to loud.

"Jones... Fred Jones." The lady at the front called out. Daphne grabbed him by the arm.

"Looks like your ride is here. Shall we?"

"I'm at your service madam." Fred would have bowed, had he not been sure where to bow without hitting someone.

The next part seemed to blur together as they had gotten to the back private rooms, but as the doctor was finishing up with another patient the details of the minor things that made up paper work had to be done. Thankfully, the gang seemed to take the initiative to answer the questions so Fred could concentrate at what was coming up next. All the worry and fear popped back up again.

Time eked slowly by before the lady left and the door again opened to announce the arrive of the man of the hour.

"Sorry I was late Fred. I had to finish up with another patient." The doctors voice was familiar since he was the one who wrapped him up several days previous. But Fred had remembered clearly what the man's gentle voice sounded like.

"That's alright." Fred responded. "I was just sitting here listening to myself sweat."

"Alright, I'm going to be cutting off the bandage now. So it might feel a bit weird. Don't worry, I have never cut off anyone's ear off unless it was supposed to come off." The Doctor joked. Fred smiled, but the joke wasn't helping.

The first snip of the scissor felt odd. He could feel the doctor pulling up the bandage and the cold metal of the scissors pressing against the side of his head. He could not only hear the cutting, but he could feel it in his head as well. Each snip released some of the tension of the bandages on his head. It was a relief to not feel the pressure as the doctor cut through all of the bandages. All that was left was the eye pads.

"Now Fred, Shade your eyes."

Covering his eyes with one hand, he could feel the doctor reach up underneath and pull off the pads. They stuck a bit as he peeled them off.

"Now open them slowly."

Time stood still for the gang as Fred paused. He seemed still for agonizing moments before his shaded hand was pulling down. Blinking madly, his eyebrows furrowed as he squinted. His hand hovered nearby, just in case the light would be to much... If he could see it.

"Well?" The doctor asked, looking on concernedly. Blinking a few more times, Fred responded.

"Five... Right?" He wiggled his fingered in response. The doctor sighed in relief.

"Yeah."

"They work!" Fred announced to everyone. A burst of joy came from the rest of the gang as they all hugged Fred and shook his hand, and over all general cel;celebration occurred.

"Thanks doc." Fred responded. The doctor smiled and gave Fred a nod.

"Glad to help. Now rest those eyes. I hope to not see you back here." The doctor shook Fred's hand and then left leaving the gang to their celebrations. Fred took a good look around the room at the smiling faced of his friends. What better sight could he have asked for.

"You guys never looked so good. Let's go home."


End file.
